Stray
by Prar
Summary: Elaine was not a cowardly person - but today, the young woman guessed she could make a small exception. Oneshot, modern AU. Merry Christmas everyone!


**Hi! Because they're such an amazing couple, and because there isn't practically any fanfiction of them as of yet, I've decided to write a little Banlaine for you all (especially yaushie, rboz, eqqlo, levysenpai and lulu2222, my little Banlaine-loving nuggets :3). I hope it's not too OOC. Merry Christmas to you all!**

_**C-D**_

* * *

Elaine was not a cowardly person.

Sure, she was 4 ft 8". Sure, she was almost twenty six but _apparently_ looked like a little girl. But being short and baby-faced did not automatically make her cover in fear when challenged. No, in those precise moments, she gathered up her courage and faced off against the stuff life threw at her - be it some creepy lolicons or random job problems. She had her wit and heavy purse, and when the need arose, she used them to their full potential.

But today, the young woman guessed she could make a small exception.

It was six in the morning in the middle of November - wet, misty, and full of dead leaves everywhere so you could slip in the dark and break both legs. Generally disgusting. She had just finished frantically getting ready to work - clutching her purse and breakfast in one hand and morning coffee in the other - and after some fumbling with the keys, finally managed to kick the door open.

Perhaps it was the light. Or the fact she hadn't slept or ate much that night. Maybe because she was getting late for work and her adrenaline was running pretty high? Either way, when she just about jumped out onto her porch, the hobo that occupied her bench swing - a man twice her size, stinking of alcohol and snoring so loudly that her ears rung - made more of an impression than he probably should.

And a moment later, the secretary was sprawled against her front door, trying to herself to keep away from an upcoming heart attack. Her hands, now soaked in painfully hot coffee, were shaking so bad that she almost dropped her phone, but then managed to dial Helbram and secure the device between her ear and shoulder as she quickly rummaged through her purse for some napkins.

With how Elaine was feeling then, she had half the mind to take a sudden day off, but alas, it was impossible. Her job wouldn't just do itself while she was gone, and at the moment, her co-worker needed help with an entire group of important officials. So, after telling him to pester King for more help and hanging up, she carefully considered sneaking out and quickly running for her car.

She wasn't a coward. Plus, it was just like Helbram said; it was just a drunk hobo. The most he could do was fall off the swing. Even if he tried to do anything, he would probably be too hung-over to actually hurt her.

So, after washing her hands clean and arming herself with her car keys, Elaine gathered up her resolve, opened the front door and carefully peered outside.

As expected, the homeless man didn't do much of anything since she'd left him. He smelled strongly of alcohol and mud, and was cocooned in layers upon layers of dirty hand-me-downs, mostly too small for his humongous frame; not to mention, _all_ filthy. Between the wooly cap on his head and the untied shoes at his feet, the only visible part of his body was his face - and even then, with the angle he slept at, all she saw was his impressive gray beard and the red tip of his nose.

There was a huge sack planted between his knees, and as she moved a little closer, she saw even more hand-me-downs, as well as some mismatched playing cards and an entire _mass_ of ale bottles.

Elaine couldn't help but frown as she stared at them. As most homeless, it seemed that this guy had a drinking habit. She had to thank the goddesses that he hadn't knocked himself out - _forever_ \- right when he had decided to camp at her porch. She knew people of his size could take a lot of alcohol, but still, she'd prefer him not to die right at her doorstep.

Then he shifted, and she jumped, getting ready to make a run for it as he turned her way; letting out a large, happy snore as he did so.

Only to blink in confusion as the _hobo_ turned out to be a startlingly young man.

Carefully moving away from the door and waving away the lingering smell of alcohol, the young woman drew in a surprised breath as she focused on his face. He had an impressive beard and mustache, but the little skin that was left to see seemed smooth and - for someone of his lifestyle - incredibly fair. His face and nose were thin and angular, and his eyes were framed by thick, dark eyelashes. Before she could stop herself, she decided that for a homeless, smelly, dirty man, he was actually quite handsome.

He looked quite peaceful as well, and when he gave a snore so large she swore she could see the tips of his canines, Elaine actually felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth. Then she wondered how in the world had he ended up on her porch, and the smile faded. Biting her lip as she looked at his bottle stash again, she shifted uneasily.

It... It would be a shame if he suffered some major headache when he woke up, especially now. He'd be hurt, cold and hungry, stuck on her bench... Needing to use the bathroom. He'd be miserable.

Which was why, instead of making a break for it when she realized she was one hundred percent safe, she backtracked quickly inside once again, searching for her ruined breakfast.

* * *

Fourteen hours later, when she had just barely managed to park her car and stumble out of it, Elaine didn't know what to expect. She was exhausted, but the meeting had gone _well_ and her group had very nearly burst into full-on party mode once the last guest had finally left. This day was so important and difficult, but she'd made it through and she did an excellent job at the same time. It felt like a month has passed since she'd left home - she almost forgot about her odd encounter in the morning. The _what if's_ concerning the hobo had faded from her mind as soon as she focused on her job, and now that she was done, she was ready for a bath, a full meal, and about twenty hours of sleep.

However, her odd encounter haven't forgotten about _her_, and when she had finally made it back to her doorstep, he scared the hell out of her _again_. And this time, he was awake, alert, and waiting for her.

But as she stared at him in shock, purse held high and ready to strike, she was surprised to hear him laugh, and - instead of doing something scary she'd expect - quickly rummage through his multiple pockets, pulling out a carefully folded paper bag and wordlessly showing it to her. Slowly lowering her purse, she stared at it in confusion, before looking at the hobo it belonged to. What was he trying to do? What was he doing here at such a ridiculous time, anyway?

"You did this?" He asked her, moving the wrapping back so he could run his thumb along the paper. She stuttered, wondering if she should answer honestly, before swallowing nervously and mumbling out a hesitant, "Yeah?... "

The homeless man seemed to consider her answer for a moment, watching her from where he sat, cross-legged on her swing, with his bag slung over his shoulder. His eyes were an intense ruby, she noticed as she stared right back - and a rather lovely ruby at that. Especially when his serious expression changed into, of all things, a _smile_, and he gave her a look of some amused triumph that had her brows furrow.

Suddenly - faster than she would expect - he jumped off the piece of furniture to stand in front of her, and she jolted, watching him straighten to his full, _ridiculous_ height and look down at her.

"Well, then~" He hummed at her in an oddly singsong voice, and she took a small step back, getting her purse ready as he shifted his frame to hover above her. "I guess you know what that means, right?~"

"W-What are you doing?" Elaine squeaked, taking another step back. "No, I _don't_ know what it means? I just helped you a bit today, but it was nothing extraordinary, so-"

"It means I'm indebted to you, and I owe you my thanks."

Then, without another word, he _bowed_, bending so low that she had to leap back to give him enough room to do so.

Her breath hitched in her throat as his hair brushed against her waistline and _kept going_, but before he could get out of her range, she reached out to dig her hands into his hair and pull him back to her eye level.

"Don't!" She cried out, and as he looked back at her quizzically, she couldn't help but blush for all she was worth. "I know you want to thank me, but it really wasn't that amazing of me. I just gave you a small snack."

"Well, according to me, it _is_." The hobo huffed, eyebrows narrowing as he started pulling away to put some space back between them. "Come on, little lady, could you at least let me finish the bowing part?~ I've been waiting the entire day for you to get back so- _oh_."

The young woman at his side squeaked as her hands were dragged up along with his head, and he grunted, catching her wrists gently with his calloused fingers. "Oh _fuck _me," he swore, feeling around for her tiny fingers, now ensnared between the dirty strands of his hair, "I think you just got stuck."

_"What?"_ Elaine stuttered, squeaking when he moved back and automatically tugged at her hands again.

"Don't worry, I've got this~" He reassured her, bowing on one knee and starting to pull the dirty mane apart in search of a way out for her. "But damn, that's embarrassing," He snorted, looking away from her as he focused on the feel of her hands, "I went and looked for the person who was nice to me, I even thought about an appropriate way to, ugh, _express my gratitude-_" he made a sound as he pulled her pinky and ring fingers apart from the tangle, "and not only did I waste your time, but suddenly we're like _this_. Sorry~"

Elaine's brows furrowed, "Isn't it _my_ fault, though?" She asked, watching his calloused hands slowly try to unwind the strands from her left thumb. "And none of my time got wasted, I'm just telling you not to thank me."

"Uh-huh, I'm not stopping anytime soon, though~" He hummed, tugging at her middle finger and frowning when it didn't budge from its spot in the tangle. "I can't get it out~"

"I can feel that." Elaine huffed, wincing as he used a little more force. "Wait a moment, I've got the door keys in my purse. If we want to do this properly, we should get inside and at least get a mirror and some light."

"Aren't you at least a little bit worried about letting a homeless stranger get into your house?~" The man raised a doubtful eyebrow at her. "What if I'm a bandit, huh?~ What if I'll do unspeakable things to you and then run away with your family heirloom?"

"Well, it looks like as long as we're stuck like that, you won't be able to do that, plus a lot of _other_ stuff." The young woman sighed, looking down at him as he struggled with her hands. "I'm inclined to believe my family heirloom will be safe. And, well, if you really think I'm just going to let you steal from me, you're badly mistaken."

The hobo looked up at her again. "And what if _you_ want to catch _me_ instead? Lock me up in your basement and, dunno, experiment on me?~"

That actually made her snort. "Should've thought about it _before_ you wasted fourteen hours waiting for me to return from work, right?"

The hobo huffed at that, before tugging one of his hands free and reaching for the white purse she'd dropped on the floor. The other stayed up, tangled in his hair along with both of hers.

"True, I guess~" He muttered under his breath. "We should hurry up, then."

* * *

Sometimes, Elaine figured, a bit of courage could result in really surprising outcomes. Like the man sitting at her table in Harlequin's old sweatpants, looking completely undisturbed and popping some grapes into his mouth as she blow-dried his hair.

_If he was so adamant on showing her his gratitude, he could at least get a proper bath and wash his clothes before he left_ \- that's what she'd decided. Now they all laid in a messy pile in the corner of the washing room, and they both smelled intensely like strawberry chocolate.

"_Oi_~" The secretary perked up as the man turned his head to look up at her.

"Y'know, when I think about it, I still don't know your name~"

Blinking, she turned off the blow dryer and put it down on the table. "It's Elaine."

"Elaine?" He repeated, and she felt the corners of her mouth twitch as she nodded.

"Yeah."

"My name's Ban." The man muttered, turning back to the grapes. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." Elaine hummed, reaching for the comb and proceeding to gently grab a fistful of his hair. "Now look out, because that's probably going to hurt."

Even if it did, he said nothing, just continued to munch away on her fruit. She brushed the strands carefully, mindful of the tangles, and tied it in a long ponytail at his back when she felt satisfied with how it looked. Then she just stood there, moving her weight from one leg to the other, frowning as she thought about an idea she came up while he was throwing his stuff out on her floor. "Um."

Ban didn't turn, and she couldn't help but feel a bit relieved because of that.

"You know..." She said carefully, trying not to seem too creepy. "If you ever find yourself in a pinch or something, you could come by again. I already got you your own toothbrush and all. So when you leave, you can remember this place or something and feel free to visit."

"Are you serious?~" Ban snorted, and she stuttered, feeling her cheeks heat up.

"Well, yeah, I am. Actually, I got a bit worried about you when I saw you, and I don't really feel like I deserve all that gratitude yet. So... You can take a bath or ask for some snack from time to time, or stay over if the weather is particularly horrible. I mean... I hope you actually believe I won't hurt you, just in case."

"And the catch?"

Elaine glowered at his back, eyebrows furrowing. "There's none," she said seriously. "Just don't destroy or rob my house while you're at it."

"Hn."

The chair scraped against the floor when Ban stood, and for a moment she wondered if she freaked him out and he was getting up to leave - but then he looked at her, once, and wordlessly moved towards the large couch in the corner of the room, making quick work in sprawling himself out on top of it and curling into the back pillows.

The young woman watched him readjust himself once or twice to lie comfortably, and heave a great sigh before settling down. She had half the mind to ask him _'So?'_ since she couldn't really figure out what he was thinking, but then decided against it and just picked up the half-empty fruit bowl, turning around to leave the room; switching off the light while she was at it.

However, just as Elaine was gently closing the door, she'd heard Ban answer - his voice mostly muffled, but oddly... vulnerable.

"...I'll think about it."


End file.
